A Few Feathered Portraits

Yesterday I decided to get out the Sigma 170-500mm lens. I haven't used it since I got the new camera and had always been disappointed by its apparent soft focus. I though I would see how it compared with results I have been getting from the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM. I set things up on my most sturdy tripod as the Sigma is a long heavy beast. The results confirmed my earlier findings. I can often get sharper photos from small crops with the Canon lens.

Anyway here are some of the everyday visitors to the garden taken with the Sigma set at about 450mm most of the time:

Adult Goldfinch


Young Goldfinch


Young Sparrows at the bird bath


Sparrow enjoying Elder berries


Robin


Greenfinch trying to keep its balance


Greenfinch


The lighting conditions were not very kind as the Sun was often hidden behind cloud. I had upped the ISO to cope but even so I still found the results disappointing as the Sigma had had good reviews. Mine is second hand so maybe it is not in perfect condition optically. Also there is the difference in price to take in to consideration as the Canon lens cost an arm and a leg whereas the Sigma only needs an arm!

Blue Tits

Just recently there has been a juvenile Blue Tit visiting the Birdy Bistro. It can be picked out from the adults by its grey cap which will change to blue later on.

Normally when the Blue Tits visit they spend a short while on the cables above the feeders bobbing their heads and having a good look round to make sure all is safe before descending. This youngster spent over a minute trying to pluck up courage to mix in with all the House Sparrows that were hogging the feeders before flying away to try again later.



An adult Blue Tit almost hidden behind a leaf on another Sunflower growing from a seed dropped by the birds.

Peek-a-Boo. I can see you.


Finally another piece of video. It starts with a Goldfinch surveying for danger above the feeders. The second part is of a juvenile Blue Tit doing what Blue Tits do best - feeding upside down on the fat ball feeder.

Bits and Bobs

Just a few bits and pieces today. Yesterday I took the old Canon with me as it is lighter to use one handed whilst hanging on to Bobby's lead with the other. It was hot and Sunny with a gusty wind. In the end I came back with one photo worth looking at. All the birds were sheltering from the heat and the butterflies and dragonflies were being blown all over the place except for one little blue job which did pose for a short while.

I am fairly sure it is a female Holly Blue resting on a nettle leaf.



Back home a spider was embalming a hoverfly with their reflections showing in the double glazing.



The Sunflower seeds I planted some time ago have finally reached flowering size. These turned out to be a small variety with stems about 3 feet high and flowers about 3 inches across.



The first large Sunflower to flower has now produced seed some of which have already vanished. Whether a bird or a mouse has helped itself I know not. I had hoped to be able to film or photo whatever fancied free Sunflower seeds but as fate would have it the darned thing faced North, away from the kitchen window, once it had been pollinated. In fact this one never did follow the Sun across the sky.



In the front garden I have two Hibiscus bushes. One is a mass of flowers and buds. The other is a wizened stick about nine inches high. I have never managed to work out why one grew well and the other failed. Both were planted at the same time and they are in the same area of the garden.

Hibiscus by night. As well as attracting some butterflies and many bumble bees by day it attracts moths by night.





At the edge of the pond is a lovely pink flower belonging to one of the marginal plants. A Schizostylis coccinea cultivar.



Today I had put out a small pile of black Sunflower seeds and it didn't take long for two Coal Tits to start collecting them. During one period I saw one kept disappearing under the tall Leylandii in the corner of the garden. I decided to have a scout around to see if I could see signs of a store or activity. The ground under the Leylandii is covered with a layer of old leaves but in three places there were bald spots which were probably too small to have been made by Bobby when he is sniffing around. In one of these patches was a solitary black sunflower seed. Coincidence? Possibly, but the bird was flying very low in to that area.



Finally next door's Elder is in full berry which means they will be dropping on my side turning everything a deep purple if the birds don't make off with them soon.

A Couple of Flutters and a Hairy Landing Pad

Yesterday I had a visitor at lunch time. Fluttering round the conservatory was a Peacock Butterfly which eventually settled on the roof beam.



Today I saw what at first I though was a smallish day flying moth but once I had taken its portrait it turned out to be a female Common Blue Butterfly. I have seen a few small blue butterflies around but they never land in the garden. This one fooled me as it was far from blue in colour.



While I was getting a bite to eat at lunch time I spotted something on Bobby's back as he lay basking in the sunlight.



On closer inspection I could see it was a Common Darter Dragonfly which kept hovering and landing while half asleep Bobby didn't seem to feel a thing.



In the end it tickled and Bobby wearily shooed it away so it moved over to the pebbled area under the bird feeders. I hope it keeps up the head twitching so it can spot a hungry bird which might arrive at any time.



Now to do what I was going to do an hour ago - get the mower out. I was going to do that after the afternoon walkies yesterday but it decided to rain so I had better get 'Round Tuit' before it rains again.

One Darter and Two Hedgehogs

Yesterday was the hottest day so far this month. In fact it was still 21C outside when I went to bed. A few years ago when temperatures reached 30C I bought a portable air conditioning unit which has rarely been used since - until this year when I have really had my moneys worth of use out of it.

At last I had an outdoor visit from a Dragonfly. It made a change from having to rescue one from the kitchen. For quite a while a Common Darter Dragonfly kept finding places to rest. It didn't stay still for very long as there was quite a gusty wind at the time which kept blowing it off its perch but more often than not it would land again in almost the same place several times before taking a tour round the pond and finding a more sheltered spot to land.

I was intrigued watching the way it moved its head as it looked around for danger, or maybe for a mate. It is such a quick movement it looks as though it has a nervous twitch. The bright Sun reflecting in those compound eyes showed as brilliant white spots. When I think about it, with those eyes seeing in so many directions at the same time, the Sun should be blinding it most of the time. There must be something about the way their brain uses those multiple eyes. Can it shut off the signals from sections which are catching the brightest light? Or is the section catching direct Sunlight such a small part of their view that it doesn't matter?

A few photos and a video clip.









It made quite a change last night to see Henry and Honey, the adult Hedgehogs, visit the feeding area at the same time. Well - almost the same time as the video shows.

There are four clips in this video:
1. Honey arrives first and towards the end of this section sniffs and follows what appears to be a beetle - the mainstay of a hog's natural food.
2.Henry is feeding. Honey comes in from the shadows on the right, sees him, and backs away.
3. Henry still feeding. Honey comes in from the shadows on the left to have a drink of water.
4. Henry scoffing dried mealworms and crushed unsalted peanuts.



Last night I scattered a few of their favourite dried mealworms near the entrance to the Hedgehog House to entice them to that area. Eventually I will start putting some in the entrance so they get used to it. Finally I will put food just inside to get them used to entering it or maybe to entice any other Hedgehog visitor which visits the garden. One thing is for certain- a hog cannot resist dried mealworms.

Des Res Rent Free - Only Hedgehogs May Apply

Well - I have finally got 'Round Tuit' and installed the new Desirable Residence, one Hedgehog House. I gathered some more dried leaves to put in it and tidied up the wiring.



The loop in the outside wiring is to let any rain run away from the hole where the cables enter the house.

I lugged the house and the two reels of cable which were now attached round to the wild area of the garden behind the shed. (Being well built of thick wood it is very heavy)



Then came the task of making room to slide it under one of the small evergreen trees. I had to cut away a few of the lowest branches which meant crawling through dead pine needles and dead holly leaves. As well as being prickled my arm got bitten by an unseen bug or ant and I still have the red lump to prove it. I hope some Hedgehog appreciates the suffering caused in its name :)

Eventually I was able to slide the house in to position.



A bit more tidying up and fencing erected to keep the nose of an inquisitive Lurcher away just left the cables from the camera to fix. A quick test meant I could breathe a sigh of relief that the camera was working OK.



From the photos it gives the impression the house is tilted but actually it is the drunken angle the exhausted cameraman was holding the camera. It was a hot day and I think I must have sweated off a couple of pounds by the time I had finished. It is a lot darker round the back of the shed than it appears in the photos. I was using flash. The Des Res is next to a fence which protects it from the prevailing westerly winds and the bushes protect it from northerly cold blasts. The shed is on the South side so the Sun rarely reached down that low.

I was not the only one exhausted by the heat. Bobby lay in the Sun keeping an eye on things and when I had finished he retired to the shade at the back of the shed.



Now it is a waiting game to see if and when a local Hedgehog starts looking for a suitable place to shelter during the day and to hibernate during the cold months ahead.

Still no news about Hope, the young Hedgehog. I may phone Elaine at the weekend to enquire after the little hog's health. I don't like to pester Elaine as she gives all her waking hours to looking after many sick and injured hogs. She has my phone number and I am sure she would have let me know if there was a major problem. As Hope was under weight it will take a while to build up her strength and weight so she can survive the hibernation period.

A Lovely Surprise

When I visited Porcelain Rose yesterday I was tickled pink to see Glo had designed a 'change of address' card for my Hedgehogs. It is beautiful and very cleverly put together. You can see it here - Hedgehog Haven - well worth a visit.

I'll Just Take a Few for Later

In the Spring I was fascinated watching Coal Tits visit the feeders very frequently to take a Sunflower seed and fly off with it. They were coming and going at such a fast rate it would have been impossible for them to have eaten them all. If they had eaten the number of seeds they were making off with they would have ended up the fattest birds in the country instead of being one of the smallest.

After an absence of a month or more they are back again, once more making off with as many seeds as they can find.

Watch out - I'm coming in.


I hope nobody is watching me.


This one will do nicely.


So will this one.



And a few more for luck....
(slowed down as they are so fast)


In fact they do not eat them all nor are they so clumsy that they drop so many they have to keep coming back. Coal Tits are known to store seed for eating at a later date so my little visitors are restocking their larder. They ignore the Sunflower hearts and the kibbled Sunflower seeds but make straight for the black Sunflower seeds.

While the Coal Tit was busy harvesting a male Chaffinch stood waiting his turn for the hanging seed feeder.



Bees and hoverflies continued to visit the Sunflower. I think this may be Bombus Pascuorum but on the other hand I could be wrong.



A Large White Butterfly was finding plenty of nectar on a chives flower.



The leaves of the Sunflower were beginning to look like a lace patchwork in places so I had a look underneath to see what was satisfying its hunger.

A Small White Butterfly caterpillar?



At the end of the day one small area of cloud was catching the light of a fading Sun.